No. 10 K-State, No. 3 Baylor Face Off in Fall Finale

Friday, November 20

Waco, TX

5 p.m.

Kansas State University

Baylor

K-State's Kadye Fernholz competes against TCU at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas on November 14, 2020.

Nov 18, 2020 | Volleyball

Watch (Friday)Watch (Saturday)Listen Live Stats Match Notes (PDF)

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The 10^th-ranked K-State Wildcats and the No. 3 Baylor Bears are set to face off in the final fall weekend of the regular season at Ferrell Center, with the opener set for Friday at 5 p.m.

K-State (10-4, 10-4 Big 12), ranked in the national poll for the seventh straight week, has won five consecutive matches and seven of its last eight. With a weekend sweep of TCU, the Cats secured their first top-three Big 12 finish since the 2008 season.

Baylor (11-3, 11-3 Big 12) sits in second place in the conference standings, one game ahead of K-State. The Bears dropped a pair of five-set matches to top-ranked Texas in their last series. BU has won the last three meetings against K-State while the Wildcats own a 29-20 edge in the all-time series.

Both matches will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. Fans can also listen to Rob Voelker on News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM). Free, live audio is available at K-StateSports.com/watch.

MATCH #15
#10 K-STATE (10-4, 10-4 BIG 12) at #3 BAYLOR (11-3, 11-3 BIG 12)
Friday, November 20 // 5 p.m. // Ferrell Center // Waco, Texas
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // ESPN app
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch
Live Stats

MATCH #16
#10 K-STATE (10-4, 10-4 BIG 12) at #3 BAYLOR (11-3, 11-3 BIG 12)
Saturday, November 21 // 2 p.m. // Ferrell Center // Waco, Texas
Watch: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ // ESPN app
Radio: News Radio KMAN (93.3 FM, 1350 AM) // Rob Voelker
Listen: K-StateSports.com/watch
Live Stats

K-STATE AT A GLANCE

K-State heads into the final weekend of fall with a trip to No. 3 Baylor.
The Wildcats, ranked 10th in the country, have won seven of their last eight matches following a series sweep against TCU last week.
With the two wins over the Horned Frogs at Bramlage Coliseum, the Cats extended their season-long winning streak to five matches and secured a top-three finish in the Big 12 standings for the first time since 2008.
The K-State offense hit a season-high .367 and never trailed in a straight-set victory on Friday night.
Aliyah Carter led all players with 14 kills at a .379 clip while Brynn Carlson hit .429 in accumulating six kills.
Kadye Fernholz logged seven kills on 10 attacks without an error for a career-best .700 efficiency.
Saturday, the Wildcats and Horned Frogs went to five sets, K-State's eighth five-set match of the year (6-2).
Carlson tied her season high with 20 kills (.308) while Carter added 19 kills.
Abigail Archibong added 10 kills on 14 swings (.643) and five blocks.
Teana Adams-Kaonohi shattered her career high with 55 assists in her first double-double effort of the season (11 digs).
K-State's 10 conference wins are its most since the 2008 season (14).

SCOUTING BAYLOR

No. 3 Baylor (11-3, 11-3 Big 12), who was off last week, dropped a pair of five-set matches to top-ranked Texas in its last weekend series.
The Bears are led offensively by preseason player of the year Yossiana Pressley, who paces the Big 12 with 4.72 kills per set (sixth nationally).
Pressley also ranks in the conference's top 10 with her .283 hitting percentage.
Middle blocker Kara McGhee, a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honoree, leads BU and is third in the league with 1.14 blocks per set.
As a team, the Bears rank second in kills per set, hitting percentage, assists per set, blocks per set and opponent hitting percentage.

INSIDE THE SERIES

K-State leads the all-time series 29-20, dating back to 1993.
The Bears swept the season series in 2019 and have won the last three meetings in the series.
K-State is 12-12 all-time in Waco, last winning in 2018 (3-0).
BU has won five of the last six meetings and seven of the last nine, going back to 2017.
Head coach Suzie Fritz is 22-16 in her career against Baylor, with an 8-10 road record.
K-State is 2-8 in its last 10 trips to Baylor.
The Bears will be the fourth straight opponent K-State has faced coming off a bye week.

CHECKING IN

K-State is ranked in the AVCA Fall Coaches' Poll for the seventh consecutive week, checking in as the 10th-ranked team.
It is the first time K-State has been in the nation's top 10 since the 2003 season.
K-State cracked the poll on Oct. 7 and is ranked for seven straight weeks for the first time since 2012 (14 straight).
This season marks the first time the Wildcats have cracked the AVCA Coaches' Poll since the 2016 when they went as high as No. 23 during the regular season.
The Cats are 235-107 (.687) all-time as a ranked team.
The poll, which only ranks the four conferences playing in the fall, ranks the top 15 teams during the fall season.

HOT STRETCH

K-State has won seven of its last eight matches, following a home sweep of TCU last weekend.
The Wildcats' current five-match winning streak is their longest of the season and marks their longest conference winning streak since 2015 when they won six straight.
Over the last eight matches, K-State is limiting its opponents to a .167 hitting percentage while the offense is hitting .251 with 12.52 kills per set.
Opponents have hit north of .200 just twice over the stretch while the Cats have held opponents under .175 six times.
K-State owns a 413-345 edge in total kills over the last eight matches.
Carter paces the Wildcat offense with 4.07 kills per set over the last eight matches while Kadye Fernholz is hitting a team-best .328.
Morris has served up 15 aces and racked up 126 digs (3.82 per set) over the last eight matches.

ROAD WARRIORS

The Cats are 5-1 away from home this season and have won their last three road contests.
The five road victories equal the most since 2014 and is the team's highest total since the Big 12 moved to a 16-match schedule.
Jayden Nembhard and Aliyah Carter, both freshmen, lead the way with 82 and 80 kills, respectively, on the road.
Carter averages 3.64 per set while Nembhard accounts for 3.57 per set.
The K-State defense is holding opponents to a .195 efficiency on the road.
The Wildcats are 4-0 in five-set matches on the road and have played 27 out of a possible 30 sets.

DEFENSIVE CATS

As a team, K-State ranks third in the Big 12 in both opponent hitting percentage (.202) and digs per set (14.52).
K-State has held its opponents under a .201 hitting efficiency in seven of the last eight matches.
The Cats held TCU under .185 in both matchups last weekend, including .088 in a straight-set win on Friday.
The Wildcats have held opponents under .230 in 11 of 14 outings this year.
During its five-match winning streak, opponents are hitting just .165 vs. K-State.
Abigail Archibong ranks fifth in the league with 1.08 blocks per set while Mackenzie Morris' 3.77 digs per set also ranks fifth.

GOING THE DISTANCE

So far in 2020, K-State has played 60 of a possible 70 sets, going the full five sets in eight of 14 matches.
The Cats are 6-2 in five-set matches after Saturday's five-set win at TCU.
The Wildcats are 4-0 in five-setters on the road this season and have twice come back from 1-2 deficits.
The Cats have won their last four five-setters and have played gone the full five sets in at least once in each two-match series this season.
K-State's six five-set wins are the highest single-season total since the 2014 season (6).
The Wildcats' record for five-set wins in a season is eight (2011).
Since 2017, K-State has played 31 five-set matches, going 15-16.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS

Baylor marks the second ranked opponent, and second top-five foe, K-State will face this season, as the Wildcats dropped both matches to No. 1 Texas.
In 2019, K-State went 0-4 vs. ranked teams - all ranked in the nation's top five.
K-State last defeated a top-10 team on Aug. 27, 2016 when it defeated No. 6 Hawaii in four sets.
Against top-five foes, K-State is a combined 2-75 (.027) in its history.
K-State is 7-121 (.055) all-time against teams ranked in the nation's top 10.
The Wildcats last defeated a top-five team in 2011, when they ousted No. 2 Nebraska in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Lincoln.
Since 2014, K-State is 3-31 (.088) against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25.